Radio showmanship (Sept 1940-May 1941)

a f You Sponsor The News To the radio program sponsor all of the elements that attract listeners are important. And although the sponsor usually has no hand in the preparation of the news to be used on his program, the material in this article, reprinted from The New York Times, reports on an important factor in news broadcasting that may be overlooked in the, rush of events. The Editors Are radio news commentators talking over the heads of the public? Are they, in their earnest desire to relay accurate information, considering listeners with limited schooling who want to obtain first-hand reports on vital topics of the day? Is their choice of words within the vocabulary limits of the great majority? In connection with a laboratory course conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, a series of experiments to determine newer and wider uses of radio in the English curriculum was conducted in a typical city high school. In one project, a radio was brought into several English classes in the high school and fifteen-minute news broadcasts were tuned in at 8:30, 9:30, and 12 noon. Students were asked to listen not merely for the text, but to list any word which the announcer used which was unfamiliar or the meaning of which was not clear. Only words which appeared on more than two papers were placed on the general list, which totaled sixteen and nineteen words for the noon and 8:30 broadcasts respectively. The number of words in itself is not surprising, but a glance at the list brings the startling revelation that high school students admitted not knowing such oft-repeated expressions as: Trojan horse tactics, drubbing, strategic, allocated, summation, capitulated, proponents, reiterated, monitors, prelude and deter. The fact that these experiments reveal the apparent weakness in vocabularies of students is not to be overlooked, but that is not the primary issue, according to the surveyists. Educators are constantly attempting to solve this problem with remedial reading and new methods of word study. The question is asked: If senior high school students admit ignor OCTOBER, 1 940 ance of what radio commentators use as common wordage, how much longer would such a word list be for the hundreds of thousands of adults who have had less education or experience in reading? How much can the naturalized citizen or alien from a foreignspeaking land grasp from a barrage of unfamiliar syllables in a speedy news flash? It is pointed out that the punchy staccato delivery or series of euphonious polysyllables of sensational speakers may have better ear appeal, but the easygoing conversational manner of one person talking to another is more direct and is believed to gain better results in audience reaction in the long run. For example, when Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke recently at a dinner for the Girl Scouts, she used simple language and spoke in a casual manner. That radio commentators are aware of this condition and that certain women's programs are beginning to adopt this policy were well illustrated in the Pittsburgh school experiment with the 9:30 broadcast, "News for Women." The same caliber of students who listened to the previous programs found only five words they did not understand. Not only did the announcer speak slower and more distinctly, but he appeared to be substituting simpler expressions in as many instances as possible, such as the use of battering instead of drubbing or "agents working to overthrow the government" instead of subversive activities. The analysis indicated that the program may have lacked the vigor and speed of other news broadcasts, but it was much easier on the nerves and permitted the students to get a clearer picture of the situation. According to Pittsburgh observers, simple diction is the surest method of reaching the masses. — A. L. Laufe. 57